This article discusses whether QLD caretaker hours should be aligned with weekend and peak letting periods to better manage guest issues.
Question: Who can deal with nuisance guests when the onsite manager is off duty? Should their attendance hours cover peak periods?
Like many older management agreements, ours only requires the onsite manager to “be available” for a short block on Saturday mornings. However, our peak guest periods are from Friday afternoon through to Sunday morning, as well as during school holidays. There is also a growing trend for onsite managers to live off site, which means they are often not around during busy times.
I understand that onsite managers are entitled to their own time, but it seems impractical that they are not present when issues are most likely to arise. If a nuisance situation occurs with a guest outside the onsite manager’s contracted hours, who actually has the authority (and responsibility) to step in on behalf of the body corporate and resident owners?
It feels ineffective only to contact the lot owner after the event, particularly when owners have limited control over guest behaviour beyond providing a copy of the by-laws, which many guests will not read. While some onsite managers go above and beyond and stay visible during peak periods, many avoid involvement outside their contracted hours.
Should bodies corporate be looking to update caretaking or management agreements so that attendance hours better align with peak occupancy periods, even if that impacts traditional weekend or public holiday expectations? How should we approach this in practice?
Answer: If you are having problems with guests onsite, it may be necessary to pay for this extra support, but you can also consider other methods of control.
The contract with the caretaker is the contract you have. If it doesn’t stipulate hours of attendance on the weekend, there is no reason to expect the caretaker to be onsite.
If the body corporate wants someone to be present for those busy periods, it would either have to negotiate that attendance with the caretaker – most likely at an extra cost – or engage an additional contractor to do the work. It may be beneficial for the caretaker to make a change so they can be present. If their letting pool is affected by poor behaviour onsite, they may be motivated to resolve the issue. Have you discussed the matter with them?
If you are having problems with guests onsite, it may be necessary to pay for this extra support, but you can also consider other methods of control. Yes, by-law breaches after the fact may not seem particularly relevant, but they can still have an impact. Maybe consider other means of changing behaviour, depending on the problems – additional signage, CCTV cameras, or greater access control around the site are common methods. Think through the practical solutions and run some trial-and-error tests to see what works.
William Marquand Tower Body Corporate E: willmarquand@towerbodycorporate.com.au P: 07 5609 4924
This post appears in the February 2026 edition of The QLD Strata Magazine.
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